Each person tracks his or her own points on a website. Eventually, the points can be used for prizes like iPods, Kindles or even cash.

Employees take advantage of breaks during the workday to do short bursts of group activities -- which they take turns choosing -- said Sauer, who is the office manager of the Cassopolis Street branch.

One day it might be 15 lunges. The next it could be dancing around the hallway to music queued up on a cell phone.

It's a fun way of working activity into what would otherwise be a day of sitting in front of computers.

New research about changes in the labor force since 1960 suggests a major factor behind one in three Americans being obese is the decline in physical activity during the workday.

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Many area employers are responding by offering employees the opportunity to get moving both during the workday and before and after it.

And the benefits, some say, outweigh the costs.

'Walking meetings'

Nicole Fallowfield, director of health risk management for Gibson Insurance Group, a South Bend company that offers risk management, insurance and employee benefits services, said there indeed is great interest among employers these days in offering wellness programs that have an exercise component.

From on-site fitness classes to pedometer campaigns and required stretch breaks, she said, companies are using a variety of ways to get employees moving.

Internally at Gibson, she said, the culture being cultivated is that it's acceptable for employees to get up from their desks.

One way that's being done is via "walking meetings."

Rather than sitting around a table, small groups of employees often briskly walk outside the building while they collaborate.

They wear laminated lanyards that say, "I'm on a walking meeting." That way, they aren't disturbed, and others know they are outside for that purpose.

Fallowfield said some employers also have revamped stairwells, painting them, adding framed art and then posting a sign by the elevator encouraging employees to use the stairs instead.

And offering flex-time can be a great, cost-free option that allows employees to come in a little earlier, for example, take a longer lunch to get some exercise in, and then get out of the office and home to family on time.

Robin Staples, provider relations manager for New Avenues Inc., an employee assistance program provider in South Bend, said the company instituted an employee wellness program last year after surveying the staff to find out what topics they were most interested in.

Ultimately, an in-house weight loss and a walking program were implemented. Both were completely voluntary.

Those campaigns are over, she said, but the positive effects linger.

Some employees still use their company-provided pedometers and others have continued participating in community walking and running events.

Everyone who took part benefited, she said, whether by losing 60 pounds or getting into shape to run their first 5K.

And even beyond the health benefits, Staples said, the program built camaraderie among the staff.

"Employees that didn't normally converse through the day or know each other that well, all of a sudden they were walking buddies on a lunch hour," she said.

A kick off the ledge

Jim Keating, a chiropractor and acupuncturist with Preventive Medicine PC, with offices in South Bend, Mishawaka and Plymouth, said his company's wellness program launched a lifestyle change of his own.

"I'd been meaning to at some point start reclaiming my health," he said.

So when his office began the "PMPC Olympics" a few months ago, he jumped in wholeheartedly.

He lost about 15 pounds and continues to lose weight consistently and sustainably, he said.

Since the "Olympics" campaign, the staff has become closer, he said.

"We found out we had interest in (doing) physical activities together."

In terms of the wellness program, Keating said, "For me, it was a launcher. The kick off the ledge."

Long working hours, he said, tend to push people toward fast food.

"You can lose them (employees) to health problems," he said, "or your insurance will have to start paying for blood pressure meds and heart surgery. ... Happier, healthier people with better brain chemistry is all very good for the company."

Bringing good health into the workplace, he said, even via little nudges, doesn't have to be expensive.

It makes good economic sense for employers.

And now, Indiana employers can get a tax credit for qualified wellness programs they offer to their employees.

Cindy Cohen, a registered nurse and health consultant from South Bend, helps companies develop such plans.

She also instructs employers on how to take advantage of the tax credit that covers 50 percent of the expense for qualified programs.